ROI of Breaking Negative Patterns
Opportunities to improve your company exponentially increase based on the longer your firm is in business and the more it grows. However, just staying alive does not equal high profitability. I have talked with plenty of business owners who have been in business for 10-20-30 years and yet they only understand how to survive, not thrive.
The foundation of profitable longevity is a strong company culture led by leaders who understand why they are in business, how to effectively and efficiently do business, and where they want the business to grow. The key to growth is how you spend. These decisions needed careful assessment of the Return On Investment, or ROI.
Let me share a secret with you. The highest ROI is achieved when you break the negative patterns in your life. Do you want to solve the water shortage? Change your water-related processes so you use less water. Do you want to solve the energy crisis so foreign countries have less control over America's future? Change your activities that use energy so that you use less energy. Do you want to solve the problems you are having with your employees? Change your leadership habits so great employees thrive and weak employees leave.
First, let's consider the ROI Of Doing Nothing.
Robert E. Hall wrote an article titled The Disengagement Economy on March 25 of this year. One of the shocking statistics is that 35% of workers say they would forgo a significant pay raise in exchange for having their boss fired. Pause to consider that for a moment. One third of workers are so actively disengaged and unproductive that they would sacrifice a significant pay raise to get a new boss.
Hating your boss, employee tardiness, sloppy work, not taking full ownership for results, rudeness, low productivity, low morale, poor coworker relationships, etc... These employee issues are all symptoms of what we might call, "Bad Boss" disease. A "Bad Boss" is one who is intentionally or unintentionally not doing one or more of the attributes of a 3strands Leader:
- Demonstrate Systematic Leadership as you inspire others in
- Meaningful Work, and consistently express
- Sincere Gratitude to people around you.
You might be very wise and prudent in certain areas of your business, but when it comes to hiring, managing, developing, and retaining great employees... you are weak. How many more years do you need to go through the agony and expense of employee issues?
Dr. Henry Cloud shares a lot of wisdom in his new book Never Go Back, 10 things you'll never do again. The reason you will never do these things again is because avoiding these behaviors are some of the key reasons why other people are "successful" or "fruitful." His first Never-Go-Back Awakening principle is "Never go back to what hasn't worked".
This sounds simple, but how many of us have repeated dysfunctional and/or unprofitable behaviors for years, if not decades? These behaviors hurt us and other people. It is time for us to man-up or woman-up to make some tough decisions so we can truly enjoy our lives to their fullest potential.
Personally or professionally Dr. Cloud recommends you should not re-enter a relationship unless one or or more of three things have happened to confirm you are going forward.
Why? There is a reason it did not work. Before you go back, you have to make certain to the best of your ability that the prior reason the relationship failed no longer exists. You need to be able to verify something has changed... which is possible... but often not the truth. Instead too often we allow our employees to behave unprofitably because it is easier for us to do so, and we let our hope for a better outcome blind us to the truth that nothing has changed.
For instance, I have had clients with sales people who have not closed a significant sale in one, two, or even three years. Yet it was "easier" for them to retain that employee than to go through the pain and temporary expense to replace them.
Dr. Cloud recommends we consider three categories of possible change by asking these questions (page 18 of his book):
- Am I different in some way that would make this work?
- Is the other person or persons different in some way that would make this work?
- Is the situation fundamentally different in some way that would make this work?
The ROI is huge and quick when you follow this advice and actually commit to invest the time and short-term money to remove a long-term, financially draining, profit sucking, money wasting leadership mistake. Let me give an example of a friend and client who decided it was time to change the strategy, management, process, and tactics of their sales organization.
About three years ago my friend's company was doing $3 million in revenue. He was hoping to just match that number in the new year because there were some extraordinary sales that had been achieved which he did not expect to repeat. I recommended he contact Roy vanNorstrand of The Leren Group, whom we have just recently established a partnership. My friend checked references and went with my recommendation. Now they are closing over $7 million in sales and considering acquisition opportunities.
What is the ROI of outsourcing sales management (or getting help in another area of leadership) even when your company is doing well? "...even when your company is doing well" is the key. Your company might be doing reasonably well, but how can you get it to leapfrog your competition and grow SIGNIFICANTLY.
You only have so much time. Don't wait another 6 months, 1 year, or, god forbid, 5 or 10 years. Invest for the highest ROI now while you can:
- Commit to replace your negative leadership patterns with new, more positive habits. Your issue might be sales leadership, service delivery, overall company vision, financial stewardship... whatever!
- Get short-term help. You cannot develop new habits on your own.
- Take the short-term pain of making changes and make the short-term investment to get help so your long-term is more FUN and profitable than ever.
Realize the benefits of taking action far outweigh the cost of doing nothing. You will be glad you did.
